Keeping it safe and legal
On your fundraising event its important to the RNLI that you stay safe and follow the legal guidance.
Safety guidance
The RNLI is not able to accept liability for accidents or damage to people or property as a result of your event or activity, even when that event or activity is run to raise money for the RNLI.
Make others aware
When recruiting others to take part in your event, ensure they are made aware of any risks associated with the event and any requirements for taking part, eg fitness levels, special clothing etc.
Risk assessments
Carry out a risk assessment prior to your event or activity to ensure that you and everyone helping out, taking part in, attending or watching the event or activity are safe.
Supervision
Ensure that your event is properly and adequately supervised. Take particular care where children are attending or participating.
Insurance
Make sure each event or activity you are organising or taking part in is covered by insurance. If you are organising the event you may need to take out specific insurance cover. Consider obtaining personal accident insurance cover for any activity involving risk of injury.
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Legal guidance
Charity fundraising is regulated by various laws. You must comply with all applicable laws and regulations of any country in which your event or activity is to take place or to be publicised. You will find lots of useful information on how to make sure that your event or activity complies with the law in the Legal and insurance section of www.how2fundraise.org. If you need help accessing this information speak to your RNLI contact.
You MUST:
- Obtain all necessary licenses and consents for your event or activity.
- Follow good food hygiene procedures and comply with food safety laws and regulations if food is to be available at your event (whether being sold or not). Most of these regulations just require you to take common sense steps to make sure that the food provided is safe.
- Comply with any Institute of Fundraising Codes of Practice which are relevant to your event, eg the Code of Practice for Charity Challenge Events or for Outdoor Fundraising Events, (the Codes are available at www.institute-of-fundraising.org.uk – speak to your RNLI contact if you are unsure what Codes are relevant.
You MUST NOT:
- Collect on private property (including shops and pubs) without first obtaining permission from the owner.
- Collect in any public place or house to house without having obtained any necessary permits (speak to your RNLI contact about what you will require).
- Conduct any raffle or tombola without reading and complying with the rules for conducting them. You should not hold any other type of lottery. Speak to your RNLI contact to obtain information on the rules.
- Sell alcohol without a licence. You may wish to get your local pub to organise the bar for you.
Looking after the money
Any funds which you raise in aid of the RNLI belong to the RNLI.
You MUST:
- Collect and hold all money raised in a safe and secure way (particularly cash).
- Keep all money raised separately from your own money.
- Keep details of all amounts raised, keeping accurate records of all donations received or pledged, all tickets sold, all event proceeds etc, plus a record of all activities you carried out to raise that money.
- Return all original sponsorship forms to the RNLI along with the monies you have raised.
- Pay all money to the RNLI as soon as practical after the funds are raised.
- Ensure that cheques from you and your supporters are made payable to the Royal National Lifeboat Institution, not to you personally – this helps us to recover Gift Aid.
- Provide receipts to the RNLI for expenses to be deducted from funds raised.
- Offer donations back to the appropriate persons should your event be cancelled or fail to take place. If anyone declines their money, that money must be promptly paid to the RNLI.
Protecting the RNLI
You must not do anything that could potentially harm the RNLI's reputation, jeopardise its ability to carry out its lifesaving operations or put at risk its charitable funds.
RNLI lifeboat stations and RNLI staff and volunteers are there to save lives at sea. No accommodation can be provided in RNLI lifeboat stations or by RNLI staff or volunteers.
Your RNLI contact will agree the level of support that can be offered to you at the start of your project. Where an event requires a significant amount of RNLI staff time we will ask you to commit to a minimum fundraising target. Under no circumstances should an event incur greater cost to the RNLI, including staff time, than is actually raised.
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